Royal London Asset Management's senior financing facility with CMI signals renewed institutional confidence in Canada's residential lending market
One of the United Kingdom's most prominent asset managers has extended a senior financing facility to CMI Financial Group, a move that underscores growing international appetite for Canadian private credit, even as questions linger about the country's broader housing affordability challenges.
Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), which oversees approximately £199 billion in assets, has committed capital to CMI to expand the Toronto-based alternative lender's origination capacity in the Canadian residential mortgage market. Financial terms of the facility were not disclosed.
The deal is a notable signal for brokers and mortgage professionals: institutional investors from abroad are quietly running their own due diligence on Canada and coming up bullish.
National arrears sat at just 0.27% as of January 2026, among the lowest of any advanced economy. That's a figure that speaks volumes to underwriters scrutinising risk-adjusted returns.
Private credit steps in where banks pull back
CMI Financial Group was founded more than two decades ago and has funded over $4 billion in mortgages since inception.
Its core business serves borrowers who fall outside the underwriting parameters of Canada's Schedule A chartered banks — a segment that has grown considerably as tightening stress-test requirements and elevated interest rates have pushed more Canadians toward alternative lenders.
The company operates across both sides of the capital stack: originating residential mortgages for borrowers who need flexibility, while simultaneously offering mortgage investment products to high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutional partners seeking consistent, asset-backed income.
"Securing financing from an institution of RLAM's calibre reflects the strength of our platform and the quality of the team behind it," said Bryan Jaskolka, Chief Executive Officer of CMI Financial Group.
"This facility will enable us to continue growing our business and providing best-in-class lending and investing solutions to Canadians. We look forward to working closely with the RLAM team as we execute on our next phase of growth."
Expanded origination capacity at a major non-bank lender translates to broader product availability and potentially more competitive terms for clients who don't fit the conventional lending mould.
Read more: Expect more strategic partnerships between alt-lenders in 2026, says exec
A global vote of confidence in Canadian real estate
Royal London Asset Management operates as part of the Royal London Group, a customer-owned mutual insurer that is one of the UK's largest financial services organisations.
Its asset management arm runs strategies across public and private markets, with an Asset-Based Finance strategy focused on deploying what it describes as "patient capital" into resilient, asset-backed businesses.
The firm's decision to enter the Canadian residential mortgage space through CMI is, by its own account, a deliberate expression of long-term conviction.
"The business has built a strong and scalable platform, and we believe it is well-positioned to benefit from continued growth in demand for specialist mortgages," said Alok Bedekar, Head of Asset-Based Finance at Royal London Asset Management.
"Within RLAM Asset-Based Finance, our approach is fundamentally relationship-led, with a focus on attractive risk-adjusted income generation and prudent capital preservation on behalf of our clients. We have meaningful ambitions to be a relevant and long-term participant in asset-based finance globally, and this investment underscores our ability to deliver on that strategy."
Private credit has emerged as a substantial alternative to traditional bank lending across multiple asset classes, and residential mortgages in stable markets like Canada represent an attractive target for yield-hungry institutional allocators.
Read more: Stricter lending standards push self-employed borrowers to home-equity options
What it means for brokers on the ground
For mortgage professionals referring clients to alternative lenders, the arrival of institutional capital from credible offshore sources adds a layer of durability to the non-bank channel.
Lenders backed by long-term institutional funding are better positioned to maintain product availability through market cycles — unlike some smaller players that have historically pulled back when wholesale funding tightened.
CMI's expanded capacity may also enable competitive pressure on pricing across the alternative space, particularly for near-prime and non-qualifying mortgage clients.
As the Canadian mortgage market continues its gradual recovery, access to well-capitalised alternative lenders will be an important tool for brokers navigating clients whose circumstances don't satisfy conventional underwriting standards.
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